More Women

June 23, 1985

UNITED NATIONS — The female population of the world is increasing faster than the male, and women will outnumber men by the year 2100. The major reason: Women, who now number 2.41 billion, live longer in most areas except southern Asia. The information is in a U.N. report, The State of World Population, that focused on the education, health and employment of women for the U.N. Decade for Women, which closes with a conference next month in Nairobi, Kenya. Another finding of the report: In richer countries, the average number of children a woman will bear in her lifetime will fall below two by the end of the century. In Africa and parts of Asia, the average birthrate will be 5.81.